Disney's Winnie the Pooh's Bedtime Stories

by Bruce Talkington, John Kurtz (Illustrator)

In search of breakfast --
Once upon a bounce --
Rabbit's rules of order --
A knight to remember --
Owl's well that ends well --
Gopher's day off --
Prince Eeyore --
Shadow play.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, Kids, Classics

96 pages, Hardcover

First published May 22, 1994

Reviews

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book once twenty years and didn't like it. I didn't like it this time either, but at least in rereading it for my Pooh Project I was able to find out that it is the source of four adapted books in the "My Very First Winnie the Pooh" series. The books noted that they were adaptations but did not cite the original source, and the not knowing had been irritating me for a while. I'll mention the new versions with the relevant stories below.

In Search of Breakfast [framing sequence and interstitials] ~ 2 stars ~

Pooh suffers from a bout of insomnia, and Tigger suggests a bedtime story might help him fall asleep. When Tigger's tale doesn't work, Pooh ends up staggering from friend to friend, getting each one to tell him the story that might let him rest.

FYI: The framing sequence and interstitials have been heavily abridged and published without the individual character stories as A Bedtime Story for Pooh in the "My Very First Winnie the Pooh" series. The adaptation is written by Cassandra Case and uses the John Kurtz art from this book. My original review of A Bedtime Story for Pooh certainly applies to this book also:

This book follows a common formula in Pooh books where Pooh has a problem, question, or concern and wanders around the Hundred Acre Wood meeting his friends one-by-one seeking information, opinions, or help, and then everyone gathers for a party to celebrate the resolution.

A sleepless night is the problem of the moment, and Pooh consults his friends about good ways to fall asleep. Nothing works until one does, and then everyone prepares a party while Pooh finally sleeps.

I suppose a boring bedtime story has a better chance of being an effective bedtime story, so it has that going for it.


Once Upon a Bounce ~ 1 star ~

Right off the bat, this collection of stories is in trouble. First, the author has decided that even though Tigger is telling the story in the framing sequence, it will actually be told in standard, neutral, omniscient third-person narration. Tigger just happens to be in the story with Pooh, instead of really giving it voice. The same thing happens with all the subsequent "storytellers." Second, the author has decided to disregard canon from the Milne books and Disney movies and just have Tigger suddenly change his mind and love eating honey. Third, the balance of pictures to text is way off, giving us pages full of words with small pictures or no pictures whatsoever. These stories are going to take a while to get through. Finally, this story is just bad, with Tigger falling into a sudden existential depression for most of the story due to one offhand comment then bouncing back to a ridiculously elevated extent just as suddenly at another.


Rabbit's Rules of Order ~ 2 stars ~

Rabbit is all anxious about his fall harvest and has been passive-aggressively pressuring his friends to help him out. This results in a dream sequence where he imagines his friends acting more like him. I"m not a fan of dream sequences in general, and this one doesn't take its concept far enough to pay off. Though it does give us this image, which only needs some light photoshopping to please any furries or fujoshi who slash Rabbit and Pooh (Poohbit? Rapooh?):


https://i.imgur.com/HclKz7X.jpg


A Knight to Remember ~ 2 stars ~

Piglet tells a hum Pooh wrote about Piglet being a brave knight who has to rescue Princess Kanga from a dragon. I gotta say, the Kanga/Piglet romance is weird and off-putting


Owl's Well That Ends Well ~ 2 stars ~

One autumn day, all of Owl's friends decide that since Owl is a bird, he ought to migrate south before winter. Once he agrees and takes off, everyone of course immediately misses him, but things work out in the end for everyone.

FYI: This story is significantly reworked and retold in the "My Very First Winnie the Pooh" series as Disney's Owl's Trip South, with an adaptation written by Barbara Gaines Winkelman and using the original illustrations by John Kurtz from this book.


Gopher's Day Off ~ 1 star ~

A setback in a tunneling project has Gopher deciding to give up his digging career. He hangs with his friends to try out their hobbies as he tries to find a new purpose in life, but just as every problem resembles a nail to a person with a hammer, Gopher keeps trying to help his friends by adding a digging aspect to all their pastimes -- all to disastrous results. It's all heading toward the obvious realization that playas gotta play play play and gophers gotta dig dig dig.

FYI: This bad story is reworked and made even worse in the "My Very First Winnie the Pooh" series as Gopher's Day Out, with an adaptation written by Cassandra Case and using the original illustrations by John Kurtz from this book.


Prince Eeyore ~ 1 star ~

Eeyore falls asleep while searching for his missing tail and dreams about a "Prince and the Pauper" case of mistaken identity. Dream sequences -- the bane of my reading existence.


Shadow Play ~ 2 stars ~

Roo's having a night where he's afraid of the dark, but Kanga helps him see the bright side of shadows and night sounds with a Pollyanna spin that I'm not sure any child will fall for.

FYI: This story was also adapted in the "My Very First Winnie the Pooh" series as the second half of Don't Be Scared, Piglet and Roo, with an adaptation written by Barbara Gaines Winkelman and new art by Kim Raymond.


FOR REFERENCE:

Contents: In Search of Breakfast -- Once Upon a Bounce -- Rabbit's Rules of Order -- A Knight to Remember -- Owl's Well That Ends Well -- Gopher's Day Off -- Prince Eeyore -- Shadow Play

(Pooh Project: Phase 2! I've managed to catalog all the shorter Pooh projects my family owns (see the list here). While I work through few remaining longer Pooh books we own, I'm missing my daily dose of Pooh, so I'm going to start seeking out some of the Pooh books I don't own – yet – from libraries IRL and online. See the reviews here.)

[Aleksandras Rimdžius · Rating 4 out of 5]

– Mielai, Tigriuk, – tarė Pūkuotukas. – Tik turi aiškiai man pasakyti, ko man daugiau nedaryti. – Jis pakrapštė sau už ausies. – Tikiuosi, ne to, ką visada darau... nes ir taip nežinau, kas tai.

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Triušis pasirėmė letenomis savo niūriai surauktą kaktytę. Sunkus darbas – galvoti, kaip kiti privalo tvarkytis gyvenimą.

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Švilpikas pasikrapštė pakaušį kirtiklėliu, kuriuo baigė kasti naują tunelį.
– Ką gi, – atsakė, kai nustojo niežėti, – mano darbas labai sunkus. Gal ir mano pasakėlių bus sunku klausytis.
Pūkuotukas užsimovė kalnakasio šalmą ir atsisėdo ant akmens, nugludinto taip, kad būtų patogu sėdėti.

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– Dėkui už pagalbą, – nuoširdžiai padėkojo Nulėpausis.
– Neverta dėkoti, – nusilenkė Karalius. – Man rodos, sapnai tam ir yra.
– Vadinasi, tai tik sapnas, – palingavo galvą Nulėpausis. Ir staiga atsibudo.

[Denis · Rating 4 out of 5]

As far as Winnie the Pooh books go, this is a good one. I believe that one of the best uses of this book is to read to children at bedtime. Is that a thing anymore?

It's the story of how Winnie the Pooh just could not get to sleep. So he goes to all of his friends at the 100 acre woods to have them tell him a story so that he could get to sleep. What I liked about this book is that it is a chapter book. So, you can read the story to the child and keep him or her interested in that they will be curious as to what happens next. Which Pooh friend finally got him to sleep? Also, there are little mini stories surrounding the Pooh friends that the child will be interested in. Stories within stories. Very well written and I do recommend this book.

The pictures coincide with the story. This particular edition I am reading has large enough print so that if the child wishes to read the story themselves they can point and sound out the words if they need to.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was gifted to me on my first Christmas.

[Savannah Dauster · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good, I cried at the end

[Kayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poor Pooh had trouble sleeping at night so he travels around to all his neighborhood friends looking for the perfect bedtime story. My favorite part is that the first story weaves in and out all the other stories tying them all together. Very cute naptime/bedtime stories of friendship. I loved reading this one when I was little and reading it now to my own littles! A fun addition to your home library!

[abe · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read to baby with help from Lily with the last story.

[Sarah Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great stories to help Winnie the Pooh, or whoever, fall asleep.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

My kids always wanted these stories for bedtime and they are so long and take forever to read that I would always try to get them to choose something else. That's what happens when you have two under age 4 to get to bed. They are nice stories though, and I try to read this book to them earlier in the evening when we have time and I'm not rushing to get them into bed.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been reading these bedtime stories to my kids for years. They enjoy them as much as I do!

[Miry · Rating 2 out of 5]

Libro con storie noiose. Non attira per niente il bambino.

[artemis · Rating 3 out of 5]

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